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su„ .■ X %e New Jersey Union Exeeutive Oommditee. 



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MARCUS L. WARD, 

The SOLDIERS' FRIEND." 



LET A.LI. "W^HO LO"^S 



RUTH, 



HONOR & GOODNESS, 



PLEASE HEAD CAREFULLY. 



^ • PATERSON. JS\ J 

PPtlNI'E'O BY OHIS^^LL & TVTJRTS, " PRESS " OFFICE. 

S»tTHWE3T ••R. BB^j^WAY t MAIN STREET. 

ISCo. 



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^'TIE SOLDIERS' FEIEND." 



Those who happened to be in the city of Trenton in those glad days whiek.-,, 
followed the close of the war — those days of spring and early summer of 180^^,^' 
when the sprouting foliage and bursting flowers were not more fragrant than-v,j, 
the sweet hopes that clustered and bloomed again in the heart of the Nation 
under the dawning of the halcyon days of Peace — could not but have been 
impressed with a remarkable fact. As the trains came whirling into the 
city from the South, bearing each their swarming load of jubilant and hearty 
boys home returning from the war, as the blue-clad, tawny files stepped outYj 
upon the soil of their native or adopted state, in almost every instance the • . 
first thing that happened, some bronzed veteran would step out of the lines,,/, 
and, swinging his old blue cap, give the word, "Now boys, three cheers for 
Marcus- L. Ward, the Soldiers' Friend." And the cheers would roll down 
the dusty column like a thundering volley of guns, while the " Old Flag " 
would dip, and the drums rattle their stirring salute. 

It was remarkable, indeed, that New Jersey soldiers should thus spontane- 
ou.sly and with such unanimity, remember and honor a mere civilian of their 
state, while passing by, without a whisper of recognition or remembrance, 
even the Governor of their state and other functionaries high in position. It 
is to show zv/iT/ these brave fellows singled out Marcus L. Ward for the 
splendid and touching compliment they did, that the following pages are 
written. It is necessary that they should be written, to vindicate a pure and _^ 
noble man from the falsehoods of men who, with a bflseness which under the 
circumstances seems incredible, have, for political purposes and to subserve 
partisan ends, put on foot false statements impugning the patriotism, the purity, 
and the unselfishness of Mr. Ward, in his labors for t-he soldiers. Let all 
uch read the following plain story, and blush with keen shame. 

The reason why the New Jersey soldiers thus singled out Marcus L. Ward-' 

• honor, was because he, of all men in the state, had been their steadfast 



4 

and eonspiouous fritnd; nay, rather, had stood in the position of a father, 
or elder brother, to those brave and loyal men, devoting his time, his labor, 
his means, to them and their loved ©nes, with a generosity and self-sacrifice 
it is really not too much to say have not been equalled by any other individual 
in this state or out of it, during the war. 

Maecus L. Ward could not have entered upon the work he did and pursued 
it with such unflagging zeal and energy to the very end, through delays and 
impediments which would have disheartened and labors which would have 
crushed any common man, had he not possessed, in a most remarkable degree, 
qualities which fitted him for his great labor of Love, for a labor of Love it 
was, purely, as will be seen. It required not merely a singularly j5/ii/aw- 
thr0pic nature, but uncommon business capacity and system, as well as the 
most fervent and exalted patriotism and faith in the National cause and its 
sure ultimate triumph — and all these Mr. Ward possessed in a pre-eminent 
degree V 

Marcus L. Ward was, in truth, born a Philanthropist. Such arc born, and 
not made. Such were Howard, Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale and Miss 
Dix, of blessed fame. This virtue in Mr. Ward was not entirely singular in 
his person in his own family. The citizens of Newark well remember a gen- 
tle-voiced woman, with a light as from the open door of Heaven forever shining 
on her serene face, who lived but for the poor, the afflicted and the orphan : 
that angel upon earth, now an angel in Paradise, was a sister of Marcus L. 
Ward. It is a proud privilege for the writer of this sketch, who enjoyed the 
delight of an acquaintance-ship with that truly noble woman, to be the means 
of extendins, with that of her not less noble co-worker and kinsman, a knowl- 
edge of the rare virtues and eminent philanthropy of Lavinia Ward. The 
beautiful Orphan Asylum at Newark will long stand as a monument of her 
zeal, energy, and self-denying love for the great Human Family. Those who 
charge Marcus L. Ward with having been moved in his last and most illus- 
trious work for the good of his kind, by any motive less pure than a spirit of 
genuine philanthropy, do not know how deep and cruel the injustice they do 
iiat noble man, who., for many years before his name was known to the ma- 
jority of his fellow-citizens of Newark other than as an honest, high-toned, 
successful and public-spirited merchant and citizen, hand in hand with the 
sister we have named, was literally " going about doing good." 

One instance, which is now well known to many of his fellow-citizens, will 
illustrate at once his benevolence and modesty. It is known that th« P©«t 



k 



Office Department sends all letters that are not j^rt-paid with a itamp to the 
"Dead Letter" Office. Mr. "Ward, learning that many letters thua failed *• 
raach their destination, many years ago directed the Post-master at Newark 
to' affix stamps at his expense to all tinpaid letters. A little stamp w»s 
affixed in later years, reading as follows : 



Was detained in the Post Office at Newark, N. 
J., on account of the non-payment of postage. 

•One w.io realizes how important it may be to 
have letters forwarded immediately, has plac- 
ed the necessary stamps upon this letter. 

To repay him, please send postage stamp* of 
equal value, addressed to 

BOX 589, NEWARK, N. J. 



Mr. Ward continues this to this day, and of course is every year much out 
of pocket by his benevolent plan. It was a long time before the name of the 
generous friend was known who was thus saving hundreds of families yearly 
from sorrow, anxiety and lo.ss, and it was only finally divulged at the per- 
emptory request of the Postmaster General who had noticed many of the lit- 
tle tickets, which, notwithstanding the pre-paymcnt on the letters they were 
affixed to had found their way to "Washington. So pleased was he with the 
incident, that he made the fact,, with Mr. "Ward's name, public through the 
newspapers, much against that gentleman's desire. Thousands of letters have 
been received, (some of which would' make a romance of themselves) by Mr. 
Ward, from grateful parties who had been spared infinite sorrow or trouble, 
or had derived great pecuniary or other benefit from his thoughtful benevo- 
lence. Surely none but a genuine philanthropist would have thought of so 
quiet yet effective a way of doing good. 

And this was but a single incident of a life-time of beneficent acts. Mr. 
"Ward's goodness of heart as well as his soundnes.s of judgment, probity and jus- 
tice, have been for many years proverbial among his friends and neighbors ; 
and numberless are the instances where his wise counsel or business tact have 
been invoked for the harmonious settlement of business or family troubles. 
His kindness to deserving young men, mechanics and others, is also worthy of 
remark ; and many a young man, now prosperous in business, pwes his fortune 
to th« helping hand generously held out by Mr. "Ward. Trained as a business 
man in the severe school of that well-known and successful Democratic mer- 
chant, John 11. Stephens, Esq., of Newark, and long occupying responsible posi-. 
tions in great business enterprises and corporations, he came to the great work of 



his life with a mind not only full of love for his fellow man, but thoroughly 
trained for a labor requiring rare exactitude, business acumen and skill. 

When the Rebellion broke out Mr. Ward espoused the cause of his country 
with every energy of his nature, casting aside business, pleasure, home-com- 
fort, everything — he girded his loins for a work which, with remarkable saga- 
city, he foresaw was to be no light nor speedily-completed one. The limits of 
an article like the present will not permit more than the most rapid and sum- 
mary glance at the labors undertaken by Mr. Ward since the commencement 
of the war, and not yet completed. 

In April, 1861, when the nation was roused by the guns of Sumter to stand 
up and behold the dark and bloody design of Treason revealed in all its horrid 
scope, Mr. Ward took the initiative in calling the first public meeting which 
was held in New Jersey to assure the Government that the heart of the proud 
little commonwealth beat true to the Union, and that the blood of the Revolu- 
tion was again aflame in the bosoms of Jerseymen, to avenge the insult offered 
the " Old Flag." At this meeting, held in the city of Newark, a Public Aid 
Committee, consisting of 24 well-known citizens, was formed, Mr. Ward being 
chairman of the committee. This committee at once went to work under the 
energetic supervision of Mr. Ward to raise soldiers to march to the help of 
the Government beleagured in its own Capital by armed rebels. This com- 
mittee raised large sums of money by subscription among the patriotic citi- 
zens, which were expended in fitting out the volunteers with blankets and other 
necessaries, and in providing, as far as possible, for the comfortable equip- 
ment of the forces thus suddenly raised, before the General Government or 
that of the state could provide themselves to meet the emergency. The duties 
of this committee soon ceased as the war machinery was reduced to proper work- 
ing order by the Government, and placed in the hands of its own agencies. 

But the labors of Marcus L. Ward did not cease, but rather increased with 
every day the war went on. With the thoughtfulncss and sagacity peculiar 
to him he comprehended that, no matter how sedulously the Government might 
look after the welfare of its soldiers, (and no Government ever excelled ours 
in this duty) there would be a thousand needs of the soldiers and sailors, 
which, if not looked after by some agency not bound by the necessarily rigid, 
methodical, and often dilatory operations of the War Department, would cause 
great suffering ; and, fully recognizing the magnitude of the task, he detgj^-- 
mined — not to get up a society, or induce somebody else to do it, but— rxo no* 
IT HIMSELF. Those countless and crying necessities of the soldier and sailor, 
which at a later period were so imperious as to call for the establishment of 



those noble institutions the U. S. Sanitary and Christian Commissions, were, 
from the first bloody dawn of the war comprehended, and, so far as the sol- 
diers of New Jersey vfdvQ concerned, to the extent of his power and means 
provided for by Mr. Ward. He afterwards accepted an honorary member- 
ship of the U. S. Sanitary Commission, established its work in New Jersey, 
and, without neglecting in the least his own Bureau of Soldiers' Relief, gave 
the Commission a zealous and influential support. 

It may be here remarked that, in January, 1862, Mr. Ward was chosen by 
President Lincoln one of the " Allotment Commissioners," whose duty was to 
provide for the safer transmission home of the soldiers' pay ; but he declined the 
appointment, as experience had proved that a plan devised by himself for re- 
ceiving and disbursing the soldiers' pay to their families, and already in opera- 
tion, was by far the best. This system, which was the first introduced into 
the army, brought into use the agency of the chaplains and officers of the regi. 
mcnts. Before it was devised, the transmission of funds from the army by 
mail, express or private hands, was attended by great risk, delay and loss. 
Thousands of dollars thus sent never reached their destination, while the very 
uncertainty attending the getting his money home induced the soldier to keep 
it by him, and naturally much of it was spent to no benefit to the soldier or 
his family, and often to the lasting harm of both. With the inauguration of 
Mr. Ward's system, the amounts sent home on every pay-day enormously in- 
creased, and not a dollar ever miscarried or was lost. 

In order to carry on his work of soldiers' aid properly and systematically, 
Mr. Ward at once opened an office in Newark, where a corps of clerks were 
at all times engaged in the multifarious labors undertaken by him, he 
giving the work his personal and careful supervision. So tremendous was the 
pressure of labor upon him, that even the sacred and refreshing relaxation 
and repose of the Sabbath was wrested from him, and, with his son's assist- 
ance on that day, Mr. Ward has toiled^Sunday after Sunday, in thewearisome 
and perplexing labors which to him were sacred duties. _ The system pursued 
in this office was a model of method, precision and dispatch. Some of the 
work here done may be briefly alluded to : Mr. Ward assumed the duty of 
securing and collecting the state pay. Government bounties and back pay of 
the soldiers both in the service and after discharge, and the enormously per- 
plexing labor of examining into and adjusting the numberless complaints and 
difficulties naturally jirising among the soldiers. If a man got into trouble 
from any cause, to Marcus L. Waud he turned as surely as a son to a father. 
In hundreds of cases where soldiers had been condemned to penalties ^'uch 



as confinement, loss of pa^, dismissal from service, etc., the searching and 
brotherly scrutiny invariably undertaken by Mr. Ward would be sure to set 
him right, if wronged. In hundreds of eases unjust sentences have been re- 
voked, or sentences remitted, the offence being proved to be a venial one, 
One example only need be noted. In one case 39 men of a New J ersey reg- 
iment had been tried and sentenced to three years hard labor with loss of all 
pay and allowances and to be dishonorably discharged from the service. Mr. 
Ward, after incredible labor and pains finally procured a remission of this sen- 
'^tfetftfg, so that all the men received an honorable discharge ; and only ou« 
half lost their back pay, the others receiving pay in full. The great confi- 
dence reposed by the Government in tho probity and justice of Mr. Ward 
enabled him better than any one else to perform this task. 

Mr. Ward's care for the soldier ceased not with his death. To him the 
widow and orphan looked for the collection of back pay, bounties and other 
claims, and never looked in vain. It is ascertained from an authoritative 
source, that Mr, Ward has secured back pay, etc., to a vastly larger amount 
than all other agencies for the purpose in New Jersey combined. The welfare 
of the soldiers' _/amt7ie5 was as carefully looked after as that of the soldier 
himself. Did a wife want to learn the whereabouts of a long silent husband ; 
did a widow or mother of a dead soldier want to know where the precious dust 
was laid, and to recover it, or, if that were impossible to secure such memen- 
toes as however trifling are inconceivably precious to the heart of affection — 
to Mr. Ward they went, and the work was done, if in the power of man to do 
No detail of care for the New Jersey soldier or his loved ones, however im- 
portant, or however trivial, but was carefully and religiously executed by this 
good friend. Did a wife, mother or sister who could not write, want to corres- 
pond with their soldier they knew that at Mxncus L. Ward's office they would 
find a ready hand and sympathizing heart to assume the humble duty of their 
secretary and amanuensis. In passing, we may sta,te that not less tlKiu 
thirty tlwusand letters have been mailed from Mr, Ward's ofiioe on sol- 
dier's business during-the past four and a half years, and at least one hundred 
tJiousa7ul persons have visited his office on business eounected with the sol- 
diers or sailors. 

No one not thoroughly conversant with tho facts can form any idea of t^e 
multifarious duties Mr. Ward was called upon and clieerfully undertook to do. 
To enumorato them would be both amazing and amusing—amazing from 
their magnit-udfc-r-amusing from tlje many curious and often absurd tasks he 
was called ut>on to attempt. But to outer into anytfung like detail trotlld 



, j9 

far transcend the space at our service. Among them were the institution of 
inquiries as to the health, condition and habits of the men in the field, the 
collection and payment of debts, the settlement of business affairs, the ob- 
taining of furloughs, transfers from hospitals, discharges from the service, 
seeking out and bringing home the remains of the dead, visiting and comfort- 
ing the families of the absent ; even undertaking, when requested, the recoti 
ciliation of domestic troubles, where nothing was wanting save the interposi- 
tion of a judicious friend and counsellor to restore peace and joy to a desolate 
home. He has been made the banker and depository of innumerable trusts, 
such as U. S. bonds and other valuable papers, and hundreds of soldiers' 
vAUs call upon him to act as their executor. One of the heaviest of his 
duties has been the investment of funds sent him for that purpose, and the 
charge of the vast amounts sent him for deposit in the savings banks. The 
business every pay-day of a regiment was perfectly enormous. 

Not satisfied to know of the welfare of the soldier from correspondence and 
hearsay, Mr. Ward has made it his business frequently to visit in person the 
camps and hospitals, and by actual observation and conversation with the 
men, he learned much that it was proper for some one to know who had a heart 
to desire and a will to insure that abuses should be rectified. To his prompt 
iptervcntion, persevering energy and powerful influence, the New Jersey sol- 
diers owe the reformation of numberless abuses and causes of just complaint. 
Throuo-h him many a worthless officer has been removed, and many a worthy 
officer and private promoted. He knew the history and circumstances of 
nearly every New Jersey regiment, and was known personally to nearly every 
soldier of the state. There were few of the great battles of the war in which 
New Jersey soldiers were engaged, where, before the smoke had fairly lifted 
from the scene of blood and carnage Marcus L.Ward was not " at the front" 
ministering to the sick and wounded, or looking tenderly after his dead. More 
ihaM once has sickness, contracted in these errands of mercy, brought lilm to 
death's door. 

The establishment of a hospital at Newark, where New Jersey soldiers might 
be nearer their homes and friends was due to Mr. Ward's thoughtful care for 
the New Jersey soldiers. Before the establishment of a hospital at Newark, 
New Jersey soldiers were scattered through a hundred different hospitals, 
putting their friends to great trouble, vexation and expense to reach them — 
their ivhereahottts, indeed, being often impossibly, to ascertain. Mr. Ward 
procured the location of a hospital at Newark, intended at first for New Jer- 
sey paticBts solely. It was under the care of thc'staNj authcJrities, Mr. 



10 

Ward uot only aclvancing on the spot the means for its fitting up, but under- 
taking the onerous duty of superintendent. The rapid completion of this hos- 
pital at a period of sharp and terrible necessity, will^CTer be remembered a« 
a surprising testimony to the energy, executive ability, and business capa- 
city of Marcus L. Ward. 

It^Avas found, after a while, that many advantages would be secured br 
placing the Hospital under the care of the General Government, and this was 
accordingly effected through the agency of Mr. Ward ; the Government, in- 
recognition of his important services, conferring his name upon the institu- 
tion, which has since been known as the " Ward U. S. General Hospital." 
Tiie assumption by the Government of the management of the institution did 
not prevent Mr. Ward from watching over its interests with jealous care ; and 
that it has been one of the best managed and most comfortable hospitals in the 
country, is not a little owing to his watchful supervision. The hospital was 
indebted to his thoughtful and all-embracing philanthropy for a set of embalm- 
ing apparatus, with the stipulation that any patient dying there should be 
embalmed, so that friends might at any future time identify and recover the 
remains, and to many improvements of various kinds looking to the comfort 
and happiness of the inmates. 

Mr. Ward's services to the soldiers and their families have not stopped at 
labors m their behalf, arduous and excessive as those have been- He has held 
his jnirse ever open to minister to their necessities. There have been dark 
dayfe in. the war, when the government machinery was hampered by the press- 
ure of foes from without and cmba\-assed by the clogging devices of enemies 
williin " its own household." At these moments it was unable to furnish 
promptly the money needed to pay its soldiers, and there was often, as is well 
remembered, great suffering among the soldiers and their families. At these 
times Mr, Ward has advanced enormous sums, from his private means, upon 
the pay of the soldiers, without a cent of interest, his only security being his 
faith in the National cause. His advances have reached at times the 
largo sum of thirty thousand dollars ! The amount of suffering he has 
prevented or relieved is utterly incalculable. But uot seldom was he appeal- 
ed to for an outright gift by persons in dire need, and to a worthy applicant 
his hand was never shut. He was skilled, too, in penetrating that honest 
pride under which there are those who will endure all extremities — even to 
(l^ath — before they will beg ; and many a mother's heart has been lifted from 
the very abyss of de.gpair where anxiety for the fireless, shoeless, hungry lit- 
tle ones at home bad gunk it, by a timely present fr>m this good man, so deli- 



11 

«atcly conveyed as to forbid the slightest pang. Well maj thousands of 
. .women here in New Jersey pray nightly " God bless Marcus L. Ward !" 

, And now, to crown all this magnificent record of noble acts, and to let th« 
greatness of soul of Marcus L. Ward be fully appreciated, let it be remem- 
bered that all this vast machinery of soldiers' aid was kept in operation by 
Mr. Ward entirely at his oivn cost. All this expenditure of time, every soli- 
tary item of outlay for travelling expenses, for clerk hire, for telegraphing, 
for stationery, for postage — in fine every dollar of expense attending the trans- 
action of the business of his ofiice, was paid by Mr. Ward out of his own 
pocket. So that not a soldier, nor the family of a soldier, not even the city, 
tlie state, nor the National Government, nor any person or agency whatso- 
ever, was ever put to as much as a dollar of cost for services rendered by 
Mr. Ward to the soldiers. He has not even charged a cent of interest on 
the vast sums advanced by him to save the soldiers or their families from suf- 
fering, while he has all the while entirely surrendered his own busmesa 
afiairs, and, of course, has thereby alone experienced serious loss. 

It is certainly not too much to say that such an example of philanthropy, 
patriotism and self-sacrifice has not been excelled, if equalled, in the whole 
brilliant record of the services of eminent patriots during the war. 

One would reasonably imagine that, now that the war is over, Mr. Ward 
would rest from his labors and seek the ease and enjoyment of his pleasant 
home. Not so. His work is not done, he thinks, until he has seen all done 
that can be, on the part of a grateful country, in requital of the matchless 
services of her brave defenders. He is j^ow, and has been for two years, ac- 
tively engaged in looking after the establishment of a Soldiers' Home in New 
Jersey, where disabled veterans of the war m<ay spend their days in peace 
and comfort. Is it any wonder, then, that Marcus L. Ward has been, of all 
men in his state, honored with the love and veneration of the soldiers, and 
the title, prouder than that of Lord or Duke, of " The Soldiers' Friend 1" 

Is it any wonder that the New Jersey soldiers as they came marching home 
with the laurels of victory crowning their brows, and the lustre of their great 
triumph making splendid and beautiful their faded, shot-torn banners ; came 
marching home from goTy field, from sickly camp, from dismal prison-pen, to 
the serene joys of home, to wife and children, to parents and friends, to warm 
hearts and warm hearth-stones, should, as their war-weary feet pressed 
the soil of New Jersey, with grateful spontaneity remember the man who, of 
all others, had been their best, their constant and unswerving Friend ? 

Is it any marvel they should now desire to bestow upon him some mark of 



12 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



014 205 765 7 



their gratitude and affection ; should ^vith unanimity and enthusiasm insist 
that he shall be the next Governor of N<nv Jersey ? Is not their rcquest-a vq^ 
sonablc and proper one 1 Is there a patriotic voter in the state— his fita^gi 
for the position being acknowledged— who will refuse io cast his ballot for 
Marcus L.^Ward ? 



As false statements have been put on foot by interested persons for parti- 
mn ends, particular attention is called to the following offer : 

T 



One Thoxisand Dollars will be paid by the Union Executive Committee of ^^ew Jersey 
for proof that MARcrs L. Ward, the Union Candidate for Governor, haa received a singl* 
dollar of remuneration, commission or profit /rom any quarter, for services rendered by him 
or through his office for soldiers' business, to the soldiers of New Jersey or »ther states du 
ring the late Rebellion ; or that he has received a dollar in reimbursement of any expense 
incurred by him personally or through said office for the same purpose ; or that he ha 
•hargcd a cent of interest on any money advanced by him on soldiers' pay, or to the stat 
cr General Government ; or that he has derived from Government or state contracts o 
•ther sources connected with the war ai^- emolument or profit. 
Signed, 

CnARLr.s P. Smith, Esq., 

Gen. Geo. M. Robksox, 

Geo. a. Halsky, Esq., 

SoCnATES TCTTLE, ESQ., 

Hon. JoHM T. Nixon, 
Jobs 8, i.prLBGATE, Eisq., 



Barkkr Gummkre, Esq., 
Maj. Z. K. Pangbox^n, 
lion. John F. VooEnEES, 
Col. Edward Jardine, 
Col. A. P. BERTHOrD, 

Col. Ja3. F. Rusung, 
Un-ion State Ex. Cam. of Ncvt Jer .»ey. 



